Tag: Ricky Council

Ricky Council emerging as Arkansas primary scorer, best player

With Nick Smith still injured, Ricky Council is stepping up as the Hogs’ primary scorer.

When the news broke star freshman Nick Smith Jr. wouldn’t be suiting up for the Razorbacks’ season opener, it left some Hogs fans stressed.

But the performance of Ricky Council should have eliminated all that stress even three games into the season sans Smith.

Council led the Hogs in scoring for the third consecutive game against South Dakota State and looks well on his way to having a career season after transferring from Witchita State. He’s had 22, 15 and 19 points through Arkansas’ first three games of the seaosn

In the Maui Invitational, which begins Monday against Louisville, Council will have a chance to showcase his talents on the national stage, with each game broadcasted on ESPN networks. However, with no timetable on when Smith will return, Musselman will lean on Council much more.

“I can promise you there’s going to be one team that’s focused to play and that’s us. I don’t know how the results are going to go,” coach Eric Musselman said.

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Still perfect: Arkansas rolls South Dakota State ahead of Maui

Arkansas had four players in double figures in a 71-56 win over South Dakota State on Wednesday.

The Arkansas basketball team has certainly looked worthy of its No. 9 ranking in the country through three games.

The Razorbacks’ most recent victim was South Dakota State as the Hogs took a 71-53 win Wednesday night in Bud Walton Arena. The victory kept Arkansas perfect before its first real test of the season: Monday through Wednesday in the Maui Invitational.

Ricky Council led four Arkansas players in double figures with 19 points. Arkansas limited the Jackrabbits to 32% shooting from the floor and 19% from 3-point range. They also forced 20 turnovers and scored 23 points off of them.

Devo Davis (13), Trevon Brazile (13) and Jordan Walsh (10) joined Council in double figures. Brazile added 10 rebounds.

Walsh left with about 15 minutes remaining. He was helped to the locker room nursing his left leg, but he returned to the bench with about nine minutes left and appeared to be walking normally.

Arkansas will play its first game in Hawaii against Louisville on Monday afternoon.

Twitter reacts: Hogs fans, coach thrilled after impressive win over Fordham

Arkansas fans deserved to be happy following the Hogs’ easy win over Fordham on Friday.

Arkansas’ 74-48 win over Fordham on Friday night was exactly the kind of game Razorbacks’ faithful wanted to see.

It was just the second game of the season, but Arkansas looked miles better in Game No. 2 than they did in Monday night’s season-opener against North Dakota State. Coach Eric Musselman’s demeanor post-game proved it.

The Hogs scored 30 points of 30 Fordham turnovers and dominated every facet of the game, save one. Even the one problem area is an area Musselman had said might be Arkansas’ weakness this season: shooting the 3.

Still, Jordan Walsh and Anthony Black showed ability with the ball for a pair of freshmen. Makhi Mitchell looked like a legitimate SEC big man. Ricky Council proved he can dish the ball and score it, too. Just about all the way around, Arkansas received what it needed for a mid-November game against a nonconference opponent.

Fans were happy. Check out the best tweets from the game and after it below.

Aggressive defense, big run key Arkansas to easy win over Fordham

Arkansas scored 30 points off 30 Fordham turnovers and cruised to an easy victory.

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman is figuring things out with his Arkansas basketball team. But on Friday night, his calculations found a winning formula.

The Razorbacks scored 30 points off 30 Fordham turnovers and had a 23-4 first-half run that keyed a 74-48 vicory over the Rams in the team’s second game of the season.

Ricky Council led all scorers with 15 points for Arkansas. He was joined in double figures by Jordan Walsh (12) and Anthony Black. Darius Quisenberry led Fordham with 10 points.

After playing 10 guys in Monday night’s season-opening win against North Dakota State, Musselman played only seven for the first 30 minutes against the Rams. Kamani Johnson, one of only two returners from last year and who started the opener, didn’t play until fewer than four minutes were left. Arizona State transfer Jalen Graham, who plays Johnson’s position, made his debut after Musselman made a “coach’s decision” for the reigning All-Pac 12 player in the opener.

Arkansas was still without guard Nick Smith Jr., too, whose knee injury Musselman called day-to-day. The projected lottery pick has yet to make his college basketball debut.

Arkansas is back at it Wednesday from Bud Walton Arena against South Dakota State.

Arkansas Basketball: Postgame twitter reactions to Hogs season opener

Arkansas fans were muted after the Hogs beat NDSU on Monday.

The Hogs opened the 100th season of Arkansas Razorback basketball with a 76-58 victory over North Dakota State.

The win came without freshman sensation, Nick Smith Jr. who was sidelined with knee soreness.

Eric Musselman relied on his elite transfer class to bring in the win. Ricky Council led all scorers with 22 points and a highlight dunk. Trevor Brazile followed with 21 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, also going 3 for 6 from behind the arc.

North Dakota State attempted to keep it close for as long as possible, only trailing eight points but the Hogs turned the volume up in the second half, pushing the lead to 20.

The Hogs have Final Four aspirations and expectations. Musselman has put together a good group with transfers and high-ranking recruits that can definitely make a late push in March.

No Smith? No problem. Arkansas rolls North Dakota State in opener

Arkansas’ had far more talent than North Dakota State and rolled, but only six players scored in mixed opener.

Arkansas is going to out-talent a lot of basketball teams in 2022-23.

What was just a projection turned into a step one on Monday as the Razorbacks had little trouble with Summit League’s North Dakota State in both teams’ openers, 76-58.

The Razorbacks were even without their most talented player, even. Guard Nick Smith Jr. was ruled out three hours before tip off for a precautionary knee issue. He wasn’t necessarily missed against the Bison.

Trevon Brazile scored 21 points and had 12 rebounds, while Ricky Council led Arkansas in scoring with 22 points.

Arkansas went on an 11-0 run early in the second half and built its lead as large as 21 points with about 12 minutes left. Brazile and Council scored all of the Razorbacks’ points during the run.

Of Arkansas’ six freshman, Anthony Black and Jordan Walsh played the most and were the only two to score. Black had a stat-filling box score with seven rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. He shot just 1 of 7 and finished with three points.

Arkansas is back on the court Friday at Bud Walton Arena against Fordham. The meeting will be the teams’ first since November 1983.

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Comparisons to Michael Qualls are legit for new Arkansas wing Ricky Council IV

Arkansas wing Ricky Council IV brings memories of Michael Qualls and Brandon Dean with his sheer athleticism.

Arkansas basketball seems to get a certain kind of player once every decade or so. The kind of player who, in a bygone era, would have shown up on SportsCenter Top 10s every few days.

Brandon Dean. Michael Qualls. Ricky Council IV.

Dean was the human highlight-reel of the 2000s, Qualls of the 10s and now Council, a transfer from Wichita State, is blowing away his teammates and coaches with his athleticism during summer workouts.

Nick Smith Jr., the national Player of the Year, has seen some of the best the country has to offer in and around his age. But what Council did this week during practice was – pun coming – shocking.

“Ricky is unbelievable. Ricky is crazy,” Smith said. “I haven’t seen anything like that before. I’ve literally seen him walk under the basket and do a between-the-legs [dunk] … Not even trying. I thought I was athletic, until I saw Ricky.”

Dean was a consistent guard during his four Arkansas seasons and Qualls was an All-SEC wing. Council, who is heading into his junior season, could join them with his all-around ability, too.

“He adds a dimension to our transition break as a three-man that can make a feet-set three and can also catch and finish lobs,” coach Eric Musselman said. “He’s a good basket cutter. He’s a high-volume free-throw attempt player.”

Council was the American Athletic Conference Sixth Man of the Year last year, averaging 12 points and 5.4 boards for the Shockers. Don’t expect him on the bench too often with the Razorbacks this year.

“Ricky has at least one ‘wow’ moment every practice — at minimum one,” Musselman said. “It might be a dunk, it might be a finish in traffic. But he plays with an incredible energy.”

Arkansas basketball moves up a spot, inside top 10, in ESPN’s too-early rankings

The Razoracks are going to be a force next year, but have a daunting schedule.

Big things are expected for the Arkansas basketball team this season. Locals know it. National folks do, too.

ESPN’s Jeff Borzello updated his summertime Top 25 for the college basketball world last week and the Razorbacks moved up in the rankings.

Arkansas checked in at No. 9, one spot ahead of its previous No. 10 slotting. It’s enough to make Razorbacks the second highest ranked team in the SEC, behind perennial power Kentucky.

The Top 25 is filled with Arkansas’ opponents for the 2022-23 season, as well. Tennessee is 12th, Auburn is 13th and Alabama is 20th. Creighton and Texas Tech are ninth and 24th, respectively. Arkansas will get one of those teams in the Maui Invitational in November. The Razorbacks will also play No. 8 Baylor in the Big 12/SEC Challenge in the second semester.

Take a look at Borzello’s top 10 below.

Arkansas Basketball lands Ricky Council from Transfer Portal

Arkansas lands reigning American Athletic Conference Sixth man of the Year winner Ricky Council.

Arkansas Basketball has picked up their fifth prospect from the transfer portal with the commitment of former Wichita State guard [autotag]Ricky Council[/autotag].

Council announced his top-6 schools on May 3, with Alabama, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, Kansas, and Iowa State joining Arkansas for consideration.

During his redshirt season at Wichita State, Council was awarded the American Athletic Conference Sixth man of the Year award for averaging 12.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game with seven starts.

The best game of his season was against UCF on January 26, when he scored 31 points against the Knights. He shot 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from the beyond the three-point line.

Council is the 2nd transfer from Wichita State that Arkansas has landed in consecutive years. [autotag]Trey Wade[/autotag] was teammates with Council for a season before making the move to Arkansas. In his lone year as a Razorback, Wade averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.

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